The Island: A tantalizing Contradiction

Rating: 8/10 (8 January 2006)

I will be the first to say I loved the movie to death but to give it a fair review I won't use that fact as my sole momentum.
First, we'll take a look at the cast. Wonderfully chosen, I believe Ewan McGregor (though his accent is a bit shaky) is the perfect lead for this movie for three reasons. A) Hollywood does love beautiful people B) Let's face it, the wide range of skills he possesses is perfect for what they were asking of him, and C) I don't think anyone as well known can portray such a wide range of emotions and changes so well without overacting. As for Scarlett, I must say I get tired of that annoying, sexy, confused look on her face and I get tired and a bit dazed watching her eyes which are constantly moving every which way. It always looks like she's in a room with flashes of light that her eyes must follow. As for Sean Bean... what a well-chosen villain. Not only does Sean Bean play the doctor with a god complex very well, but his the deliverance of his final line in the movie... brilliantly executed. Let's not forget the comic relief Steve Buscemi who plays a character we like from the beginning. I don't think it's ever been so fun to love a bad guy.
Now, Let's get into the plot. Though I admit the plot has massive potential I think it is somewhat stunted and overshadowed by Michael Bay's NEED to destroy everything in sight. I just don't see how the whole building sequence added to the film at all besides giving me a reason to jump off a building and see if I land in a net. Let's face it, that was impossible and they emerged mark-less... But I'm off topic so I'll continue. Characters: Lincoln Six echo was very fun to watch and I think the writers did wonderfully at making him seem like a child and the gradual introduction of his doubts about his world was superbly done. Jordan Two Delta:... Hmmm... where to start. All I can say is that I love her character to pieces in that she's-so-dumb-but-gee-she's-cute-way. I think they left her character a little bit in the dust and wham! at the end, she's suddenly this smart, heroic, and violent woman? That kind of stuff doesn't happen over night and they waited too long to make her like that. Next is Laurent... I love how they switched his character like that. It's not sudden and we actually see him change and why. I think that that kind of character development is perfect and should really be used more often.
Now for the part that ISN'T fun. Special Effects were amazing... if you like shoot 'em ups and I don't for one reason and one reason alone. I think that if you have to sacrifice the sincerity and heart of a plot for buildings being blown up, cars being rolled down a highway, a giant logo falling off a building, and a flying motor bike flying through a building its not worth it. I think Michael Bay sacrificed what could have been the perfect plot for money and a chance at being a summer blockbuster hit and it sucked. Also, there are many elements missing because he wanted this movie to be viewable for a wider audience, thus he sacrificed an R-rating for... well, you guessed it, more money. And as for the love scene... I have to say I am disappointed, not because it wasn't explicit, don't get me wrong, but the way it played out. The script went a little down hill here.
There were also a number of errors in the film that cannot be explained. There is a little mess-up with the generations, there is no order to the system, and there are countless errors with characters. Let's look at Gandu three echo for instance who is of echo generation, which makes him three right? but he's been there seven years. Upon closer inspection you can easily see that the sequence on his sleeve is G3A, which means, you guessed it, they changed his character's name. Why? so we could see Merrick commit cold hearted murder. I admit, the scene added a new element to the movie which could only be described as Merrick's ruthless nature but Merrick doesn't strike me as hasty and the decision was hasty and desperate and there is no feasible way of explaining it to the rest of the population. and besides that, Gandu can be seen at the end, a free clone... strange...
Over all, I enjoyed the movie immensely and the soundtrack is wonderful but there are things I don't like about Michael Bay's "style". It's brutish and self-serving and didn't do a lot of good for the movie in the long run. Also, the DVD is lacking in features which no doubt means we will all have to spend an extra few bucks in the near future if we wish to see anything worth our time that wasn't in the movie.